I just had to make this. We have avocado in our smoothies quite frequently so when I came across this recipe I thought it would be really good. It's popular in Brazil to use avocados in desserts, but I haven't really seen anything like this locally.

The recipe seemed pretty straight forward and not too complicated. However I hit a snag in the process, my cream would not whip! I have never had this happen, I used a beater at first, and after several minutes of no action I put the cream in the refrigerator for a few minutes thinking it might need to be colder, I resumed, nothing, so I got out the immersion stick blender (which always always works great and quickly), nothing, I think it would have turned into butter before whip cream, so I mixed it with the avocado mix to see how it would fold together, it was pretty thick combined and I hoped for the best while it chilled. So the problem might be that I heated the cream too much, because even after it was well chilled I had no luck. And I'm not sure 10 minutes of chilling in an ice bath is really sufficient. I wouldn't let cream come to a boil, and make sure it's well chilled.

Conclusion: I think it might be a bit too sweet. I want to make this again, but I would eliminate the sugar from the cream, or at least cut back 50% of the sugar in the avocado mixture. The freshness of the avocado is coming through, but it could be more so and the caramelized sugar on top is sufficient for sweetness.

It was fun to make (er, well except for the cream not whipping) and definitely want to try again! Enjoy.

Recipe below.

Avocado Creme Brûlée
(Adapted from Gourmet.com)

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 (2-inch-long) strip lemon zest
1 1/2 ripe 6- to 8-oz avocados
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plus 8 teaspoons sugar, divided*
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 - 5 ounce ramekins

Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a small heavy saucepan using tip of a paring knife, then add cream, lemon zest, vanilla bean and a pinch of salt. Heat cream mixture over low heat until hot, then transfer to a bowl set in an ice bath. Chill completely, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes (it may have to be refrigerated). Remove vanilla pod and zest.

While cream mixture chills, pit and peel 1 whole avocado, then purée in a food processor or blender with 1/2 cup sugar and lemon juice until smooth.

Beat cream with 2 Tbsp sugar using an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold in avocado purée. Cut remaining avocado half into 1/3-inch dice, then fold into avocado mousse.

Divide mousse among ramekins, then cover each ramekin with plastic wrap. Chill until cold, about 20 minutes.

Just before serving, remove plastic wrap and sprinkle 2 tsp sugar evenly over top of each ramekin. Move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth just above sugar until sugar is caramelized and slightly browned. Let stand 2 minutes before serving.

Notes:
* depending on taste I would recommend cutting back on the sugar by 30-50% in either the cream or avocado mixtures